both the frige and freezer are warm, fridge @ 50*f and freezer @32*f. I'm going to begin to remove the panels now and attempt to troubleshoot and defrost with a hairdryer. do you have any suggestions on the general direction i should take? thanks

Before you defrost it, I always ohm the defrost thermostat with my ohm meter for continuity to get a proper reading while its still frosty, normal ohm reading would be 0-1 ohm.

It that reads good, then ohm your defrost heater, that should read the same.

Unplug your refrigerator first before ohm testing those 2 parts.

If both parts are fine, then its your motherboard thats bad, you can order that here by clicking your model# in the title of this thread.

Jake

yes already defrosted. it's plugged back in, the compressor seems to be operating fine, the condensor and evaporator fans are working. after about a half hour of being plugged in, the bottom 2/3rds of the evaporator is frosty, top third is not, is this normal? i'll ohm check the defrost thermostat and heater after it cools (if it does) like you suggested. thanks

ok, thanks